An Offer of Help
by batwheelsz350
Summary: Two guests become aware of specific night time troubles, and both want to help their friend out, even though he is resistant to it. Story should be innocent enough to avoid an M rating. Takes place after JL episodes of Starcrossed. Wonderbat.
1. Chapter 1

It was yet another dreary morning in Gotham. The morning sun always seemed to stay hidden behind gray clouds that always seemed to threaten with a potential rain storm. The scenery was certainly something that had yet to become an expected sight for one of Gotham's more recent occupants. It was certainly a different scenic view than when she would find a window within the Watchtower to peer out of each morning.

Although, there was certainly one positive from her temporary residence. She always had a fresh cup of tea awaiting her arrival on the kitchen counter, and was always met by a cheerful elder man in Alfred. Spending time with the elderly gentleman had been serving as one of the highlights of each day for her. His presence was a breath of fresh air for her, only further confirming that her mission was a worthwhile endeavor.

Another highlight for her was that she was getting to know two of the more stoic teammates on a more personal level. While one of them still chose to be difficult in getting closer to, J'onn Jones had been the exact opposite. She almost wished that her room on the now destroyed Watchtower had been as close as they were now inside Wayne Manor.

Not unlike some of the television shows Wally had incessantly attempted to get her interested in, she almost felt as if she had a roommate of sorts. It had practically become customary for them to meet out in the hallway each morning before making the trek into the kitchen, and it was that pattern which had caught her off guard on this very morning. J'onn had been nowhere to be found when she came outside her room.

Even more concerning to her was that when she'd approached Alfred as to J'onn's whereabouts, he'd informed her that her Martian friend had requested and received a room at the opposite end of the Manor. Even worse, Alfred informed her that her friend had also left the Manor entirely, stating that he wouldn't be available for League Duties that day until he returned that evening to serve his monitor duty shift from Bruce's cave. He'd even removed his communicator and left it behind.

J'onn hadn't given her the slightest indication that he'd been unwelcome toward their still growing friendship, but rather exactly the opposite. In fact, he'd seemed to really enjoy her company, and even came close on more than a few occasions of actually cracking a smile as she graced him with stories and anecdotes of her time growing up on Themyscira. His unforeseen request had her quite perplexed, and her initial reaction was to immediately seek him out for the reason behind his relocation. But just as quickly, she stopped herself. He obviously didn't want to be disturbed, and she wondered if perhaps she had done or said something to force his decision.

She decided that she would give him his space for the time being, but when he approached her again, she was going to broach the subject and discover if she might owe him an apology. Still, she couldn't help herself but to mentally go back over the last few days, trying to recall if there was a time where he'd acted differently toward her. So she continued to peer out into the gray of Gotham as she processed each conversation and interaction.

Unfortunately, all her reflection only brought her to the same conclusion. For as well as she had gotten to know him, it appeared that she still had quite a bit more to figure out. She tried not to allow frustration to grow inside her due to the knowledge of apparently how little she'd managed to glean from J'onn, but it was difficult when she'd decided to take advantage of the situation by getting to know both him and Bruce better while they all resided in the same house.

Everyone else was really an open book compared to those two men, and she wasn't about to let something like what Shayera had managed to pull off happen to her again. She was going to know each of her teammates intimately if she had any say whatsoever. If she could help it at all, there would be no more moles within the team to be concerned about.

Flash wasn't nearly as secretive as he'd believed. Sure, Bruce was the one to "unmask" him per se with the announcement of Wally being the man under the red mask, but really he wasn't the only one who'd figured that little nugget of information out beforehand. It had taken a couple of months, but Diana managed to figure out who the Flash was underneath the mask on her own. She was also quite sure that she wasn't the only Leaguer either to have discovered his identity prior to Bruce's big reveal.

Surprisingly enough, Kal would've been difficult to figure out had he not entrusted her with his identity not too long after the incident with the Secret Society. Once everyone had sufficiently cooled off from their revealed private thoughts about their teammates, Superman had then approached her with the intention of rebuilding trust within the team. In reality, he hadn't needed to go to such lengths to regain her trust, but still she appreciated the effort.

John Stewart hadn't made any real effort in hiding the type of person that he was, even from the very beginning. His military record spoke volumes as to the type of man he'd become, and she'd seen the heartbreak on his face as a result of what happened between Shayera and him.

Bruce would've been the last on her list of teammates to figure out, but that was only because of his level of secrecy being at such a phenomenal level. Even still, she'd managed to break through his defensive shields, although not close to all of them yet. He held a brutal honesty when it came to handling matters, was logical in almost every action or decision, but there was still more. He'd shown her a softer side at times, and often those times were unprovoked. There were even some times where she believed that perhaps he was interested in something of a more romantic level with her, but those moments were always fleeting with large gaps of inaction between them.

With J'onn going out, she'd initially decided to move onto her final target in Bruce. She believed that he was still at home, as he didn't seem to dare leaving without first downing a couple mugs worth of coffee. That much she'd definitely been able to ascertain in the short amount of time she'd been staying in his house. The man seemed to be hooked on the stuff from what she'd seen of him, and if he appeared to be unapproachable as the Bat before they'd lost the Watchtower, she'd concluded that those moments he more resembled a cuddly kitten when compared to how he was in the morning before his first cup.

Bruce was quite possibly more intimidating and fear inducing during those few uncaffeinated minutes in the mornings without the mask than he'd ever been while in the cape and cowl. In fact, Kal made certain that he left through the Batcave exit when he happened to fall onto the nightshift monitor duty, and everyone else noted that pattern on the first night. Except that is for Wally.

On one memorable instance, the Scarlett Speedster made the poor decision to come up for some breakfast. He'd also attempted to strike up a conversation with Bruce, and that was a mistake he'd never make again. He'd already been fearful of the Bat beforehand, but from that moment on, it was a guarantee that he was now even more fearful of Bruce. It was most definitely a far cry from the perception of a pampered and pompous billionaire playboy that Wally believed would be prevalent.

Without coffee, Diana jokingly thought that Bruce could very well become the most dangerous person on the planet. She however, was still not intimidated by him. She'd just learned that if she wanted any chance at getting along with him on a particular day, she had to let him get some caffeine into his system first. A caffeinated Batman was a happy...well, a more tolerable Batman.

With that in mind, Diana turned and glanced over to a nearby clock, confirmed the hour of the day, and set off in search of her broody home owner. As she started to seek him out in his usual haunts, her thoughts began to revolve around the potential why's that Bruce hadn't come into the kitchen for his morning coffee. Although miniscule, some trepidation began to course through her system as the thoughts of potential injury while out on patrol came to her.

She'd never before really given much thought toward just how vulnerable Bruce was until her unplanned and extended stay in the Manor. That change had put her in a position much closer to him which he'd never allowed her to witness before. In fact, he still tried his best to hide anything he could that could remotely be perceived as a weakness from her or anyone else, but despite his efforts there was plenty of evidence in support of his limitations.

She'd seen the infirmary in his cave after all, and it didn't take a detective to notice the potential clues. There had been times she happened to notice plastic bags marked as "contaminated" which were taken to an incinerator, and other instances where she'd witnessed Alfred restocking gauze, bandages, and various ointments into the medical wing even if he'd already done so just a night or two before.

So lost in her thoughts, Diana hadn't realized that she'd made it down into the cave until she was already standing before the surprisingly empty computer chair before the super computer Bruce utilized extensively for his mission. While slight frustration arose from her temporary failure in tracking his location, there was still another part of her that was relieved. Not because he wasn't in his well used chair, but rather because she could clearly see that every vehicle was sitting in its designated area, and also because he wasn't lying on a gurney in the infirmary. He had to have returned home, otherwise she was certain Alfred would've been down here instead of preparing her morning tea earlier.

She wondered if perhaps he'd had a late night, and perhaps needed to catch up on some rest. She knew that she could always go to his room and check, but if he was resting; she'd rather not disturb him. He slept so rarely it seemed, and he certainly needed any that he would afford himself. Still, she wanted to know for sure that he was indeed safe, and it was then that Diana recalled back to one evening while serving a shift of Monitor Duty.

Alfred had been in the cave cleaning when someone had entered Wayne Manor property for an unplanned visit. Alarms blared throughout the cave as a result of the intrusion, and Alfred ceased his efforts in cleaning the cave, approaching her. He'd requested and briefly took over the computer controls, and pulled up the grounds security footage. He either hadn't cared, or hadn't considered the fact that she could see the commands he entered, or that she could see just how many cameras were actually available on the grounds. It seemed that every possible inch, both within the house or on the property itself could be seen depending on the chosen camera selection.

Recalling the commands Alfred had used then, Diana sat down at the super computer and typed them in, and began pulling up the security recording files. It took her a few moments of maneuvering through the different camera feeds, but soon enough she figured out the order, and started to scroll through them until she located Bruce crossing through the study in the wee hours of the morning.

She watched intently as Bruce made his way up to the master bedroom under his own power, and it was at that point where she finally released a breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. Bruce hadn't appeared to be injured at all. His gate was normal, and his face revealed no noticeable pain. She then reviewed the the time stamp, and found that he'd come back home around the normal time that he usually returned from patrol.

So injury was certainly ruled out, and she was about to close out the camera file when it suddenly came to life again. It was then that she realized the cameras were only actively recording when something triggered them into action. Perhaps it was motion or audio sensitive, she wasn't sure. In this instance, the cause appeared to be J'onn bursting through his bedroom door from just across the hall. Even more surprising was when Bruce stepped out and joined him.

She had to re-watch the action a couple of times, and focused on their body language since she couldn't read their lips nor was there any audio. J'onn seemed to be in a bit of discomfort judging by his posture. He wasn't in his normally stoic demeanor. In fact, she thought she saw some real emotion from him. Turmoil perhaps? It almost looked like he was in pain. Bruce was still the enigma, but one thing she could see clearly was that he seemed to be drenched in sweat.

Shortly after the two held their brief conversation, the next thing she was Alfred assisting J'onn in moving his meager possessions from what had been his room to another wing. She didn't need to seek out further camera feeds to discover where the butler had gone with her friend. That information was already known. What wasn't known was the why behind the move, but it seemed to be from their late night meeting in the hallway.

Diana wanted answers, and if J'onn had left for the day, then rest be damned, Bruce was going to have to provide them. Diana quickly closed out all of the files she'd opened, and flew back up to the clock entrance only to come to the conclusion with her enhanced hearing that she'd just missed her other target. As fortune would have it however, there happened to be a third source, she realized. Bruce had apparently chosen to drive himself to the office this morning, the subject of this fact entering from the foyer.

"Alfred." She called out to grab the elderly man's immediate attention.

"Yes, Miss Diana." He replied as he returned his jacket to the nearby closet. "How may I be of service?"

"I need some information Alfred." She said, straight to the point.

The butler didn't speak, but rather nodded his head in acknowledgement before offering his arm and leading her into the kitchen area. If conversation was on her agenda, then a comfortable seat and some tea would be a welcomed addition.

Diana took Alfred's arm and followed him as he led her back to her normal morning seat before crossing to the other side of the counter and reaching for the teapot. He procured two more cups, and poured them both a drink as Diana stuck to her steadfast and direct approach. "I saw the camera feeds from early this morning." She announced. "I think you know more about the why's behind J'onn's room change, and I'd like to understand. You surely know that my preference would be to ask him, but with his abrupt departure I don't have that possibility."

"I'm sure Master Jones would be more than willing to share in his justification when he returns." Alfred replied.

"Are you certain that he'll be returning this evening?" She asked, and was met with the uncertain shake of his head in the negative. "J'onn once left the team when he attempted to connect with too many minds. He was initially overwhelmed by it, and when he finally returned, he told us that he'd been questioning whether the people of Earth deserved our help any longer as a result of that connection. I'm concerned for him, and after sharing that information with you, I'm certain you can understand why."

"I'm certain that your friend has every intention of returning." Alfred said in a comforting, yet confident tone. "He did state as much before leaving without being prompted."

"Something happened last night, Alfred." Diana said, undeterred. "I know what I saw on the video, and I'd like to know so that I can help my friend. He doesn't have family to seek refuge with on this planet. We are the closest thing he has to that, and if something is troubling him, I want to try and help him."

Alfred sighed, knowing that Diana's heart was certainly in the right place, even though she also seemed to be taking a cue from his surrogate son on eavesdropping. Still, it wasn't his place or desire to share personal information, and he wouldn't do such a thing unless it was truly something critical or life threatening. But perhaps he could be vague enough to allay her concerns. "Have you ever experienced a dream or to be more specific, a nightmare that seemed so very real it would jolt you awake from your slumber?"

"Yes Alfred." She answered. "Phobetor has even invaded my dreams on occasion, but I don't see what..."

"And I'm certain you are aware of Master Jones' telepathic abilities." Alfred said, interrupting Diana's next question, knowing already what it would be. "I am of the belief that perhaps such a vivid nightmare could very well leave a longer effect on a person with such _abilities_."

Diana leaned back, giving thought to Alfred's explanation. She could tell that what he had willingly divulged had been honest, even if it was still a little vague. He was obviously trying to respect the privacy of others, and she could certainly understand that. She was just going to have to focus on what she knew, and then piece things together from there. So she thanked Alfred for his time, and left for a quiet place to do just that.

J'onn's abrupt move came to mind first as she moved about the mansion. He'd never been so affected by dream or nightmare before in all the time he'd shared living space aboard the Watchtower with them. She couldn't even recall a single time where he'd seemed affected by dreams or nightmares he experienced at all. In fact, she could only recall one instance of a sleep cycle, as he'd referred to it, where he seemed to be in a more meditative state than actually sleeping. in that instance, Flash had even waved his hands in front of J'onn's face and snapped his fingers, but nothing really gained his attention until he ended the cycle himself.

Also, J'onn didn't seem to require sleep very often. Especially not in comparison to a normal human being. She figured that if he'd been in a sleep cycle while in his room, it was doubtful that he'd been affected by his own dreams or nightmares. Perhaps his telepathy played a role? Maybe he'd fed off a dream from Bruce or her. But she couldn't recall a time where he'd been affected by other teammates in the League either, and he'd lived among them for a much larger period of time than the few nights they'd stayed in Bruce's Manor.

With that thought in mind, Diana began to mentally catalog all of her teammates, both current and former, and how often they slept on the Watchtower. She was able to quickly conclude that Shayera had been the only other full time occupant along with J'onn and herself. She then recalled how J'onn mentioning how he hadn't been able to read Shayera's mind.

While she'd been being honest with Alfred about the experiences with nightmares, it was more of a rare occasion than not by far. She could only recall one instance where she'd experienced a nightmare while aboard the Watchtower, and that was immediately prior to the attack on Themyscira by one Felix Faust. J'onn hadn't come to her on that night, and didn't mention anything to her until he felt her dour mood.

So, in the end, she only had one confirmed time in mind where a nightmare could be the cause of J'onn's odd behavior, and he hadn't approached her then. She didn't feel that conclusion provided quite enough evidence to prove or disprove that the dreams of others would have a lasting impact on her Martian friend. The notion still merited more investigation, and that meant she would have to approach Bruce or J'onn in order to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

It'd been three days since J'onn's departure, and Diana was absolutely fuming while she sat in the study of Wayne Manor staring at the flickering flames from within the fireplace. The only contact he'd made was to Kal, and that was only to inform everyone that he required a few days of solitude before he'd make his return. Some of the others believed it had to do with the aftermath of the Thanagarian invasion, but Diana knew differently. She also knew that Bruce was aware of the truth as well, but he'd been equally as vexing in terms of discovering the actual cause.

Bruce had been seemingly avoiding his own home the past three days as well. He'd only been coming home long enough to head out for patrol, and justified his absence as simply being busy with Wayne Enterprises dealings. She wasn't buying the line he was trying to feed her, and still tried confronting him, but was only met with the typical brush off comments and non-answers alongside bat glares.

Well, she was having no more of that. She'd decided that three days was more than enough, and planned to stay awake on this night until he returned from patrol. She'd checked and rechecked Bruce Wayne's schedule, and she knew he didn't have any morning appointments or meetings. She'd gone the extra length to confirm that by calling in herself with the ruse of setting up a meeting with The C.E.O. of Wayne Enterprises to discuss a potential business dealing. One way or another, she was going to get her answers. She would even resort to using the Lasso of Truth if it came to that.

"A penny for your thoughts." A familiar, deep voice called to her, rousing her from her thoughts.

"I've been worried about you, J'onn." She said without looking away from the fire. There was anger clearly evident in her voice as she spoke, and she made no effort to hide it. "Are you alright?"

"Yes Diana." J'onn answered. "I apologize for worrying you needlessly about my wellbeing, and I certainly hope you can forgive me."

Diana turned her head to look back at her friend. She saw the contrition in his features, and all her frustration drained away. "No need to apologize J'onn." She said, gracing him with an appreciative smile. "I was concerned is all. I had no idea that dreams and nightmares could affect you so."

He tried not to show it, but knew that she'd seen all the recognition she needed to confirm her apparent suspicions about his unexplained departure. He sighed and moved over to the lounge chair across from her and sighed as he took a seat. "Normally, his thoughts are so controlled that I would struggle to read anything coming from him even if I were to try." J'onn explained. "But while sleeping, Batman's mind is less focused, less controlled, and thusly more easily readable. There was such incredible emotion and pain exuding from his mind that I couldn't help but to see it and feel it."

While she'd made an educated guess, Diana still hadn't been completely sure that Bruce's dreams had been the culprit. And now that she knew, she wanted to know why it had affected J'onn so dramatically. "I didn't know that one person's dream could have such an impact on you J'onn." She said. "Until now, I wasn't even aware that someone's dreams could. In fact, I thought it would take quite a number of minds to have such a taxing impact on you."

"No, Diana." J'onn said, catching her by surprise. He'd realized that she hadn't uncovered everything just yet. "While initially troubling and unsettling, my own wellbeing was not the reason for my departure."

"If it wasn't, then why did you move into a different room?" She asked, curious about just how far off track she was.

"Bruce requested the move in an attempt to protect me from being affected by something which is beyond his control." J'onn explained. "Especially after I had informed him of how I'd felt them almost every night since you and I have resided in the Manor. He doesn't wish to burden others with his nightmares, and after experiencing them firsthand, I left to clear my thoughts as I sought out a possible means where he would allow me to try alleviating him from them as well."

"But they're only dreams J'onn, and Bruce has one of the strongest minds, and perhaps the most indomitable will of anyone I've ever met." Diana said. "It's hard to believe that he could be shaken from something like a dream or nightmare, no matter how real they might seem."

"That's because I believe it's not just a dream, but a tragic memory replaying over and over." Alfred said from the entryway to the room. Both heroes jumped initially, neither having heard the butler when he'd entered the room.

Diana felt almost sheepish at having been caught discussing Bruce's dreams behind his back and without his permission, but she couldn't stop herself now. She'd become as invested as J'onn in trying to help their teammate. Especially if it was an unrelenting and repetitive torture he was experiencing. Even if the source of the torture came from inside, he was a hero, a good man, and didn't deserve such punishment.

"What Alfred says is correct." J'onn said, ending the slight silence that followed the butler into the room. "It appears that Bruce's mind is replaying the memory of his parents' murder almost each night."

"How could I have not heard this with my enhanced hearing?" Diana asked.

"Sound dampeners." Came Alfred's quick response. "Master Bruce, as you surely have discovered, does not celebrate displays in which could be perceived as a form of weakness. He quickly tired of my attempts at consoling him, and so in attempt to keep from _bothering_ others, he had sound nullifying dampeners installed to mask any loud noises that could potentially rouse others."

Diana clearly heard the disgust behind the mere notion that such a thing would be a bother to him, but Bruce had always displayed the desire to protect others at the expense of himself if necessary. "Has he done nothing to try ridding himself of such torment?" She asked.

Alfred gave a look that almost said he'd already revealed too much, but he knew these two heroes were only wanting to help his son. He'd been conflicted about what to reveal before, but perhaps they could find some way to rid Bruce of these punishing nightmares. All he had to do was be forthcoming and honest. Something that was shrouded in secrecy to this point. Well, that hadn't helped, and repetition with the expectation of different results was the mark of insanity. And to date, no resident of this household had held such a moniker. It was then time to try something different.

"He sleeps as little as possible, drowns himself in his work, be it his nocturnal activities or his daily responsibilities." Alfred explained. "An example of this, is that he likely hasn't slept since the night Master Jones confronted him."

"So he pushes himself to the point of sheer exhaustion until he has no choice but to pass out?" Diana recapped more than asked. and received a confirming nod from the elderly man. "Then we must find a way to help him. He'd certainly do the same for us."

"He has." J'onn reminded her. "When Doctor Destiny was attacking the League, it was Batman who located and stopped him before he could harm anyone else."

"I remember reading about that mission report." Diana replied. "Wally and... well, pretty much the rest of the team spoke of just how detrimental it felt."

"Indeed." J'onn said. "And Doctor Destiny showed how powerful a dream could be when he was able to successfully murder his former girlfriend using her own nightmares against her. I wasn't able to free her before it was too late, and I was barely able to free our friends from his grip in their subconscious."

"Then we must do something to help him, even if he doesn't want it."

* * *

Another full day had passed before Bruce finally came home to the Manor, and as soon as Diana laid eyes on him, she could see that he looked absolutely terrible. Exhaustion wouldn't have been a good enough term to appropriately describe it. Still though, he went about the evening just as he would any other, but it was obvious he was trying to play it off as though nothing was wrong as he methodically went through the evening agenda. Just like clockwork, he went down to the cave, checked on the status of open cases or League activities, spent over an hour training, and then finally ate some of the food Alfred had prepared for him before he left for patrol.

Diana's initial reaction had been to corner him as soon as she saw him and bring his issue to the forefront, but she'd stopped herself after witnessing how Bruce reacted around J'onn. It was miniscule, but she still saw the hesitance. It was almost as though he was waiting to see if J'onn would try broaching the subject of his nightmares. He'd made it as obvious as possible that he didn't need or want any help, and he was likely confirming that they were respecting his wishes, however misguided she believed his approach to be.

So instead she reached out to J'onn mentally, and sought out his thoughts, only to find that he held the same opinion as she had. She then decided to allow Bruce to settle in a little first. After all, she didn't want him to run away from them in an ignorant attempt at "saving them" from his own personal demons. Instead, she decided that the best course of action would be to perform some more research in preparation for when the right moment was presented to her.

Thanks to Alfred, Diana had been provided with the locations of the sound dampeners within Bruce's bedroom, and she'd promptly deactivated them. In order to tell that they'd been disconnected, Bruce would have to pull each device out from their secluded hiding spots. So long as Bruce had no reason to suspect, Alfred believed that he wouldn't do such a thing.

When he came back from patrol on the first night, Diana was able to tell that he'd had a dreamless sleep. Aside from some soft snoring, she hadn't been able to pick up any other sounds coming from his room. He didn't seem to toss and turn, hadn't been breathing erratically. He just seemed to sleep, and her belief was further confirmed the following morning, as his demeanor had gone back to normal. He even looked ten times better than he had the evening before.

The following night offered more of the same, but by the third night she was able to pick up on some subtle tossing along with the occasional faint moan escaping his lips. He didn't seem to wake up, but it'd been clear that the exhaustion ran its course and his dreams had begun to return.

The next morning, Bruce approached J'onn; who honestly hadn't felt anything from that dream. However, when he noticed Bruce's change in demeanor, J'onn did try asking some questions around it. He justified his questions as part of the process of running a comparison to what he'd experienced before, but Bruce instantly brushed him off and then went about business as usual.

By the fifth night, the night terrors seemed to return in full force. Diana was stirred by Bruce clearly shooting up out of his bed. She listened intently through the neighboring wall between their rooms, and found that he seemed to be struggling to catch his breath. She could almost picture him sitting on his bedside, hunched over with his arms resting on his knees, attempting to support himself as he sucked in shaky breath after shaky breath. He most likely had been covered in sweat just as he'd been when J'onn confronted him before.

It was then that Bruce did something somewhat unexpected. She heard him walking up to his bedroom door and opening it. Curious, she slowly slid out of her own bed and glided through the air to get closer to the hall without having to worry about a creaking floorboard giving her actions away. From her bedroom door, even with it closed, she could clearly hear every pant from Bruce as he continued coming down from the emotions brought about by his dream. It wasn't difficult for her to confirm that Bruce remained standing in his doorway, and she soon came to the assumption that he was waiting there, checking to see if J'onn was going to approach as he had the last time.

After a couple minutes, Bruce's breathing returned to normal, and she'd caught herself reaching for her own door handle. Her desire to offer help to her teammate, her friend, had been almost overwhelming. Had it been anyone else, she would've instantly opened the door, but this was Bruce she was dealing with. Her every move would require a precise plan around sure logic, otherwise Bruce would have her moved to the other wing just like he'd done with J'onn.

Even if he honestly believed it, she didn't need saving from Bruce's nightmares. He was the one in need of saving. But he was so damn difficult when it came to accepting help from others, and especially so with personal matters. Her heart broke for the man as she gained more of an understanding of the torture he was putting himself through. He certainly didn't deserve it, and in that moment she became even more resolute in her desire to try banishing these demons from his thoughts.

Her resolution to help at that very moment however had been deviated as she thoughts were interrupted by the soft click of his bedroom door followed by the padding of his feet as he returned to his bed. She knew that she'd missed her opportunity on this night, and she had to be ready for the next time.

* * *

"Are you sure about this Diana?" J'onn asked.

"I am." Diana confirmed in a confident tone which was a far cry from the uncertain feeling she had within about this approach. "He's been most willing to be paired up with me on missions, and I think there's a level of trust that's been built up from those times we've worked together. And it has to be just one of us that approaches him."

"I understand that Batman may feel cornered if we both approached him, but I still believe that it would be better if I..."

"It has to be me, J'onn." Diana interrupted. This was the one thing she was sure of. "For as well as Alfred knows and cares about him, he hasn't been successful in helping Bruce with this. When you tried, Bruce only pushed you farther away. Besides, I believe he'll be expecting you to approach again. In fact, I think he was expecting you to show up again last night. In order for this to have any semblance of a chance to succeed, we need to maintain an element of surprise just to throw Bruce off balance."

J'onn wasn't so sure that Diana's plan would have any better chance at getting through to Bruce, even if she appeared to be. However, he did agree that there seemed to be a level of trust she'd been able to glean from the Dark Knight more so than other heroes, and she had gained that trust in a rather short span of time, but still...

"I will allow you to move forward with your plan without intervening Diana." He said with a sigh. "However, I believe even if you refuse to admit it, you are risking more than just trust between the two of you."

Diana brows furrowed in obvious confusion at J'onn's words, but she didn't want to dwell on them at the moment. What ever the risks, she was still going to do what she could to help Bruce, and then deal with any possible repercussions later.

* * *

A/N: This was honestly meant to be a one shot, but it grew to the point where I felt it had to be cut into two parts. Especially considering I haven't even gotten to the juicy part yet. Anyways, I'm writing this in the hopes that it will help kickstart some progress on my other two fics, which are sorely in need of updates themselves. What can I say, writer's block can be a major PAIN.

Anyways, please read and review! Hope you all enjoy this little number to whet your appetites for the two big features in progress.


	2. Chapter 2

Diana waited patiently until Bruce had come home from Wayne Enterprises and went through his typical evening routine. Once he'd begun going through the motions, she did her very best to appear as though this day was just like any other, while simultaneously keeping a watchful eye on her target. She noted that he didn't look completely exhausted like he had a few nights before, but she still spotted some of the indicators of strain brought on by a lack of sleep which had begun to etch into his features once again.

As she continued watching him from afar, she also tried to gauge how he currently acted as well, and compared it to every other day since she'd been staying in the Manor. Her intention was to identify some type of pattern based of his sleep, or rather lack thereof. She also had certain questions in mind which needed answers as well. For instance, were his moods perhaps affected by his overall lack of sleep? Did his movements become more sluggish on days where he'd been most violently woken the night before? And based on that, she then wondered if there might be a way to pin down the likelihood that he would suffer another nightmare, or if she could figure out when he would completely forgo sleep altogether for anywhere up to three nights again until he passed due to being at the point of utter exhaustion.

As she searched through her memories during her stay, she became fairly confident that there was indeed a pattern. Based on what she'd put together, if she was correct in her assessment, she still had one, or perhaps two nights left before Bruce would attempt to evade sleep at all again. One part of her gathered evidence was in the fact that Bruce hadn't yet become completely surly toward his house guests before he left for patrol. But while he was there with them, he also seemed to be about a half step slow when working out during his training regimen.

All in all, she concluded that it wasn't worth the risk to try and wait another night. If she ended up being wrong, she'd very likely have to wait at least another full week before she could try again, and she didn't think she could wait that long without Bruce catching onto her agenda. She was by all means a terrible liar, and as such she'd been lucky that he hadn't caught on to her already. He was known as the world's greatest detective for a reason, and she was certain he'd be able to pick up on something if she had to wait for more than the next couple of days.

Once again, under any other circumstances, for her it wouldn't matter the patterns or conditions around a certain situation. If a friend was in trouble or in need of help, she would immediately offer her aide. She still felt this way toward Bruce, and that was why she couldn't wait any longer. It went against her personality to sit idly by and do nothing, and that had been what she'd already forced herself to do. Tonight was going to be the night she helped her friend.

Her cover however, had almost been blown before she even had the chance to implement her plan, and little did she know just how close her plans had become to being discovered.

* * *

Bruce stalked out of the changing room, suit and utility belt on with the cape draped across his shoulders and the cowl under his left arm. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he noticed a difference in scenery. "Where's Diana?" He asked as he changed direction and headed toward the super computer.

"We switched shifts this evening." Superman said as he spun the chair around to face his "interrogator" head on. "She said she'd take the morning shift if I covered for her on the evening one."

"Kind of prevents covering Metropolis, doesn't it?" Bruce probed.

"One night won't hurt, and besides, having the morning off will give me a chance to meet up with Lois for breakfast before we head into the Planet." Superman responded innocently enough.

Still, Bruce leveled Clark with a glare. He didn't like change, and especially so when it happened under his roof and without his approval. Questions instantly began to flood his mind as he continued to stare, looking for any signs of deception or perhaps some kind of hidden agenda, but Clark only stared innocently back at him. If there was something going on, Clark was at most, an unwitting accomplice.

He gave thought to moving the Kryptonian aside in order to pull up Diana's current location, but then thought better of it. Even though he could normally read Clark pretty well, if there was a chance that something was going on, he didn't want to give away that he'd become suspicious of it. So instead he just gave a disapproving grunt, indicating that he didn't intend to probe any further, and turned toward the Batmobile as he locked the cowl in place on his head.

Clark merely watched his friend until the Batmobile's engine revved to life just before shooting out of the cave. It wasn't until the tail lights were out of view before Clark turned back around to the computer, shaking his head. "I wonder what that was all about." He mumbled to himself as he returned his attention to the story he'd been working on for the Daily Planet.

* * *

As Bruce tore through the back roads on his way into Gotham, he was still stewing over the unexpected schedule change. By the time he'd exited the cave, he'd already pulled up the GPS tracking satellite link, and discovered that Diana was currently in the library of the Manor. That wasn't nearly enough to satisfy him with that bit of confirmation. He had to find out more to appease his uneasiness, and so he went a bit further, pulling up the live Manor surveillance feed.

Sure enough, he was able to confirm that Diana had indeed been in the library. In fact, she seemed to be reading a book, but occasionally paused to take notes here and there on a notepad. Bruce spared a few extra moments trying to catch a glimpse of the book cover or at least an angle to review the notes she was taking, but ultimately realized that he couldn't. She'd positioned herself in a manner which prevented him from being able to glean that bit of information. The question was had she done that innocently or deliberately?

He spent so much time investigating what Diana might be up to, that before he realized it, he'd already reached his chosen exit point as the Batmobile slowed to a stop in a dingy alley. He tried to focus on patrol, but the mystery of his house guests was still pulling heavily on his attention. It was to such an extent that he didn't even exit his battle armored car. Instead he set up the police band as he continued to sift through some older recorded Manor video feeds.

He watched her on the recordings from the time Clark had arrived until where she'd entered her room empty handed only to come out with that damn book. Much to his chagrin, she had the book protectively held under her arm in such a manner that she never provided a camera with an angle where he could discover the book's title. It was infuriating for him to say the least. He'd placed cameras all over the Manor with the sole intention of being able to see every angle, every crack or crevice within the structure, and Diana had just proven that he apparently had more work to do.

It didn't take long before he'd reached the live feed once again, and that was when he noticed that Diana was no longer alone. J'onn had joined her in the library, carrying a package of double stuffed oreos protectively in his grasp. Bruce continued to watch as the Martian sat on the couch across from Diana, tossing one of his cookies into his mouth and munching on it in obvious satisfaction. But after swallowing that morsel, although Bruce couldn't be completely certain, he still believed that J'onn's eyes began to glow.

And then his belief was confirmed as Diana lifted her gaze from her book over in the direction of her Martian friend. It seemed that J'onn had formed a mental link with her in order to engage in some form of private conversation, and in this specific instance Bruce never hated that ability as much. There was no way he'd be able to know what they were talking about unless one of them would to let him in on the topic.

Seeing them in that manner caused his throughts to immediately flash back to J'onn's encounter with him regarding his dreams. Certainly J'onn wouldn't divulge what had gone on as a result of those dreams. He'd gained Bruce's trust, and had understood the reasoning behind Bruce asking him to move into another part of the Manor. Once the move had been completed, he even told Bruce that he hadn't felt any more of Bruce's nightmares since that night.

But then there was Diana to factor in. Bruce was fully aware that she'd been actively re-vetting each and every remaining member of the Justice League. She'd been the most angry about Shayera's betrayal. Although he also agreed in the vote for her expulsion, Bruce hadn't argued for it as adamantly as Diana had. She'd been passionate in her conviction behind the proposed expulsion, and wasn't the least bit pleased when the vote ended in favor of allowing the formerly known Hawkgirl to remain with the League by a count of three-to-two.

Had Shayera not chosen to voluntarily resign from the League, Diana may well have spent every ounce of her free time watching over her every move, searching for any potential evidence of another betrayal. Instead, she'd been able to focus on the rest, and as such, moved through vetting Clark, Flash and John. In truth, Bruce had done the same thing, but through his own methods and background checks. He'd made certain to confirm all information, and then validate and re-validate it all until he was certain they could be trusted as heroes in the very least.

Like Diana's research, J'onn had been the most difficult one to gather useful intel about. There were just so many unknowns with him. He hadn't been raised in the heartland of church going, God fearing parents such as Clark, or been virtually hand picked by the Guardians of the universe to protect the innocent. He also hadn't had the backstory of one Wallace Rudolph West. In the end though, it was a specific mission which stood out for Bruce and provided him with all the vetting he'd need of the Martian.

Even though initially he struggled with it, in the end J'onn managed to realize the certainly empty promises from one Morgaine le Fey when she offered to restore J'onn's family that'd been ripped from him. He ended up saving them all on that day, and besides, Bruce didn't really fault him for his previous actions anyways. He could certainly relate to J'onn's motivation, as he didn't know of anything he wouldn't give or do for the chance to have his parents back. As such, it was his respect during that mission in which J'onn had earned a certain level of trust.

J'onn wasn't supposed to be what Bruce was focusing on at the moment, and as a result, he internally cursed at himself for having allowed his mind to get off track. He had to focus back on what Diana was up to, and he believed that it had something to do with the mental conversation she was in the middle of with J'onn. Still, although his mind had wandered off a little, he was able to pick up on the fact that Diana was now disregarding the book, and instead jotting down things in her notebook in-between sporadic looks toward her Martian colleague. Perhaps it was time to intervene and leave no doubt for J'onn that the princess was not made aware of his sleeping issues.

 _J'onn_. He thought in a focused attempt to garner the Martian's attention.

After almost a minute of silence, Bruce began to wonder if the Martian had even felt his attempt to reach him, and he reached up to use a more direct approach with the comm. link until he finally felt a presence settling in his mind. _Yes, my friend_. J'onn answered.

 _Diana isn't to know about what you discovered the other night_. Bruce said. _It's none of her business, and not her concern._

* * *

~~A few minutes earlier~~

J'onn walked into the library with his snacks in hand. He wanted to have at least one final conversation with Diana before she went through with whatever she had planned for Bruce. He was more than certain that Bruce wouldn't be happy with any attempt at helping, regardless of the best intentions behind it. He also knew that Bruce was beginning to become suspicious, and wanted to warn her so that she could be better prepared. After all, she was just as stubborn as Bruce was, and J'onn knew there was little chance he could talk her out of confronting Bruce.

He walked over to the open couch across from the Princess, and took a seat, gathering his thoughts about how to broach the subject discreetly enough. But before he came up with anything, he picked up on Diana's thoughts already reaching out to him.

 _Bruce can read lips, and there are surveillance cameras throughout the Manor._ She said through the mental link. _So if you came in here to discuss my intentions, I suggest we keep the line of communication inside a mental connection. I don't want Bruce figuring out what I'm going to do until it's too late for him to try and stop me._

 _Fair enough Diana._ J'onn replied. _But you should know that he's already becoming suspicious that something is going on without his knowledge._

 _Are you sure?_ She asked in astonishment. Hadn't she been careful enough to evade detection? How could he have figured anything out. She'd been exceptionally cautious in her approach, and wondered what it was that she could've missed?

 _Nothing._ J'onn said, even though he knew that Diana had only been asking herself. _I felt Superman's confusion when Batman began to question him regarding the change in schedule. He almost felt as though he was being treated like some kind of criminal being interrogated before Batman left to patrol Gotham._

 _Damn. I guess I should've come up with a justifiable reason for asking to switch schedules with Kal._ Diana replied. _Although if I'd done something like that, Bruce most likely would've just followed me since that would still be out of routine for me since I've been staying here._

 _You've done the best you could to avoid detection, but there is a reason why Batman is widely considered as the world's greatest detective._ J'onn said.

 _Unfortunately._ Diana dejectedly agreed.

 _I apologize for continuing to ask the same question, but are you absolutely certain that you want to go through with this?_ J'onn asked.

 _I am._ Diana answered confidently. _I know that Bruce won't be willing to accept help, but I still have to try. It's what I'd do for anyone, J'onn. Bruce needs to accept that, and I'll do everything in my power to convince him of it._

 _Is that why you've been reading literature covering nightmares and recurring_ dreams? J'onn asked.

 _It is._ Diana replied. _I_ _thought of approaching him with the idea of attempting some form of lucid dreaming so that he might become empowered enough to actually control the dream. Perhaps with that control, he might even be able to stop it from continuing. But then..._

 _That is what I offered to assist him with._ J'onn said, interrupting Diana. _I'm not convinced that he wishes to control the nightmares, or stop them at all for that matter._

She in turn narrowed her eyes into a momentary glare before scribbling a quick note down onto her notepad. _I was going to say that I assumed as much when you approached him, but now you've just confirmed my suspicions. Thinking along the lines of other possibilities, I'm fairly confident that he isn't suffering from night terrors based upon the symptoms you described to me before._

 _You're assumption is accurate._ J'onn confirmed. _B_ _ruce was fully aware of the dreams._ _I sensed as much from his flustered thoughts that night in the hallway. His state of mind at the time was disheveled and raw at first, but as soon as he realized why I was there, his control instantly returned. Having said that, most human treatments which do not revolve around pharmacology would require knowledge of the events in comparison to what has occurred in that person's life._

 _Yes, and counseling or nightmare therapy is the most commonly practiced methods of addressing the problems around a recurring nightmare._ Diana said. And w _e both know full well that Bruce won't willingly accept any form of counseling or therapy._

 _And he will be adamantly against the use of medication._ J'onn added. _Batman even argues against the use of pain medication in times where he's suffered an injury of any type._

 _So I have to come up with a form of unconventional means then._ Diana said as she once again glanced down at her notes. _If he receives an offer of help, not out of professional courtesy or for selfish reasoning, perhaps he might be more open to it._

J'onn mentally sighed, knowing that it wouldn't matter why or who approached Bruce, but he also knew there wasn't anything that would deter Diana either. She didn't seemed overly concerned about the very likely ramifications she was going to have to face herself. Her mind was made up, and all he could do was make sure she was aware of what she was risking.

 _Have you at least taken into consideration the possible backlash?_ He asked. _At the very least, it could damage your working relationship with Batman, but you may well be risking a friendly relationship with him as well if he reacts the way that I fear he may._

 _If it will help him, then it's a risk I'm willing to take._ Diana replied. _Regardless of what may happen between him and I._

It was at that point where Diana closed her eyes for a moment to give weight to what she'd just said. She'd known that what she was going to try to do was just and right. Should Bruce decide to burn the bridge of friendship between them because of doing what was right, she would just have to do her best to contain as much damage as possible. Then, perhaps at some point down the road, he too would see and accept that she had made the right choice in trying to help him with his inner demons.

So, armed with a renewed determination, she opened her eyes, but could feel that J'onn had broken their mental link. She looked over to her friend and saw that his eyes were still glowing their bright orange hue, which caused her to become curious as to who might've grabbed J'onn's attention while she was lost in her own thoughts. Her curiosity however, was only short lived, for a moment later she felt the connection once again grabbing at her, and then she heard J'onn's voice followed shortly after.

 _Batman is beginning to put the pieces together._ J'onn said. He _suspects that you are aware of his nightmares, and wishes for you to not become involved._

For perhaps the first time since she'd made up her mind, some doubt started to linger. Bruce was putting the pieces together, and he'd even sent her a warning through J'onn. But that moment also came to pass rather quickly. _Bruce would feel that way toward anyone who wants to help him._ She concluded. _He'd say that if anyone else were in the same position as I am, and if the roles were reversed, he'd make the same choice that I have._

 _While you are most likely correct,_ _others might not be so ready to risk the potential ramifications of Batman's wrath_ _._ J'onn replied _._

 _That's why I have to do this._ Diana fired back. _I believe I can help him J'onn, and I'll risk all that is necessary to show him just how much I wish to help him._

* * *

6:00 AM

Bruce looked up as the clock tower bells began to ring out for the new hour, internally registering how the skyline seemed to be on the precipice of entering nautical twilight. If he stayed out much longer, he knew that he'd be risking someone being able to tail him without his ally of darkness able to mask his exit. Besides, he was absolutely exhausted. He'd been without any form of caffeine for the last two hours, and in that same span of time, Gotham had been at it's most quiet. It seemed that everyone had turned in for the night. Everyone but him.

He was agitated by the fact that he too could've been slumbering away if it hadn't been for his ramped up paranoia toward Diana. Although J'onn had seemed earnest when he'd told Bruce that he hadn't revealed Bruce's nightmares to her, there was just something telling him that she still knew. It was that something which kept him from returning home over two hours ago; when on any other night, he would've done so.

Bruce didn't want to have to deal with Diana butting into his issues. But if he was right about her knowing, he knew that she almost wouldn't be able to stop herself from wanting to try and help him. With her, it never seemed to matter whether she had the foremost capability to resolve an issue or if it was even her place to step in. She always did anything she could simply because she wanted to help, and it was especially true when it concerned someone she personally knew. She did what she believed was the right thing to do no matter what it might cost her.

It didn't even matter to her if the person she was trying to help didn't want it, and that would certainly be the case if she was indeed planning to confront him about his nightmares. He didn't want the help. Although incredibly painful to have that wound reopened again and again during his slumber, he'd figured out how to channel that pain to help him in his drive behind being the Dark Knight. It was as much a part of being Batman as anything else, and he had no desire to alter a working formula.

So to avoid the conflict, he decided to give Gotham a couple of hours extra protection from its own personal vigilante. He only wished there was an actual need for it. Wasting time like this only resulted in a loss of sleep, and that additional sleep could've allowed him to be just a little sharper for the next night. He never knew when he would need to be at the top of his game for Gotham and her innocents, and regardless of the nightmares, Bruce had long ago accepted that ultimately his body required at least some rest in order to function. So when he missed out on an opportunity for much needed rest, he would become easily frustrated.

He only hoped that Diana would be sound asleep so that he could try and catch an hour or so of uninterrupted rest himself before heading back out to work as CEO of Wayne Enterprises.

* * *

8:30 AM

Diana was aggravated and stomping through the hallways. She'd become angered by the combination of a lack of sleep along with the fact that Bruce hadn't come back to the Manor until the wee hours of the night if at all. At most, he'd gotten maybe an hour of sleep before showering and heading back into Wayne Enterprises, and thanks to J'onn's warning earlier, she had a pretty good guess as to why.

She'd also further confirmed her suspicion by going through the crime reports on Bruce's Cray supercomputer in the Batcave. From what she could find, it had been a very slow night. Bruce hadn't even had much to report in his mission logs. He hadn't interrogated any more informants than from a regular patrol, and the amount of crimes he encountered had been minimal to say the least. Especially for Gotham.

So now she was marching through the Manor until she reached the kitchen area. "He's avoiding me." She nearly shouted.

Had the elder man of the house not already heard the clomping of her boots earlier, Diana may well have caused him to jump upon her entry combined with her boisterous complaint. But being the gentleman that he always was, Alfred would never give a verbal lashing to a guest of the house regardless of their loudness. Besides, he knew why she was upset, and he honestly couldn't blame her. In fact, of all the reputations his surrogate son had garnered over the years, being incredibly frustrating had always been the most accurate in describing him.

"What leads you to believe such a thing, Miss Diana?" Alfred calmly asked as he placed a freshly cleaned pan back into the cupboard.

"He was out all night, Alfred." She huffed. "And according to everything I've looked into, it was completely unwarranted for him to be gone for so long. Criminal activity was low last night, and his logs made no mention of any uptick in new information gained through interrogations."

"If I may Miss Diana, might I suggest that you join me for a spot of tea in the gardens?" Alfred offered with a slight motioning of his eyes to indicate that they weren't in a position to carry on such a private conversation.

Diana started to protest, but she did just notice the movement of the elder man's eyes. She'd been so angered that she'd almost forgotten how Bruce had surveillance nearly everywhere. Still though, she couldn't let go of all her frustration as she huffed in annoyance before finally giving a slight nod.

Having temporarily quelled the frustrated princess, Alfred wasted little time in gathering up a pair of saucers and tea cups, and placed them onto a serving tray along with tea pouches and sugar containers. He'd had the good fortune of already having a kettle of water heating from the stove top, and added it to the assembly before picking up the tray and leading Diana out into what had become his own personal sanctuary.

He had just the spot picked out. There were no cameras close enough to be concerned with, and the weather seemed to be on his side that morning as well. It was a rare, cloudless morning in Gotham. The faithful butler spared a glance back toward his company as he reached a vintage patio table, complete with some 17th century replica Windsor chairs. As quick as Alfred was, he didn't have time to set the tray down and pull out a chair for Diana before she'd already laid claim to her own seat, and it became more than apparent that the change in scenery had done little to alter her mood. So he figured it would be best to move forward with serving the tea before taking his own seat.

Diana's patience had by far been worn out by the time Alfred had finished with serving the tea and she couldn't be silent a moment longer. "He's already figured it out, hasn't he?" She asked.

"He suspects, certainly." Was Alfred's answer. "I do not believe he has come to a concrete conclusion as of..."

"Suspicion is more than enough when it comes to Bruce." Diana said, interrupting Alfred. "I know that he believes he doesn't want the help. He's more than indicated as much when he realized J'onn discovered how haunted his nightmares are for him. But just because he doesn't want the help doesn't mean that he isn't in need of it."

"There's no need to convince me of that fact, Miss Diana." Alfred said. "However, as you've pointed out, Master Bruce's suspicion will likely create quite the dilemma for you."

"I know." She agreed. "He'll probably avoid me at all costs now."

"I only wish it would be that simple Miss." Alfred somberly replied.

His change in demeanor troubled her. Normally Alfred was as stoic an individual as she come across. In fact, only Bruce was really better at not giving anything away. "What do you mean Alfred?"

"While Master Bruce is suspicious, he will do his best to keep his distance, but as we both now, it's more a matter of when, not if the young master will put all the pieces together." Alfred explained. "And once he has discovered the truth, he will confront the perceived issue in a manner that will ensure the end result will be to his desire."

"Meaning?" Diana urged.

"Master Bruce will likely conclude that you will not honor his wishes and allow him to continue suffering from these nightmares." Alfred said. "He will also conclude that he is not moving out of the Manor."

"So he'll be kicking me out then." Diana concluded, and received a confirming nod.

For a moment, she almost became angry with Bruce, but then she realized that this was just a possible consequence of her doing the right thing. Bruce needed this help, and if he was going to kick her out, she just needed to ensure that he would be kicking her out for actually doing something instead of only having plans and intentions.

She just needed a sound plan to gain control of the situation, and that was then that an idea came to her. "I'll be in the cave when Bruce returns." She said as she stood to her feet to make her exit. "Just play along if Bruce questions you about anything."

* * *

A/N: So, what honestly was supposed to only be a one-shot has now turned into a 3 parter. Just have to proofread the third installment, and then I'll get it up too. Hope you all enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

~~9:00 PM~~

Bruce was yawning as he entered the cave entrance behind the grandfather clock. It'd been a long and exhausting day, and unfortunately it wasn't about to end. He still had a full night of patrol yet to perform even though he was already exhausted. He was mostly to blame for his current condition, having chosen to stay away from the Manor all evening in order to avoid a certain someone as much as possible. He didn't want to give her any chance at him until he could uncover the truth behind what was actually going on within his own household.

This point in time however, would serve as one of the few unavoidable situations for him. Diana typically served her monitor duty shifts in the evenings, and he would at a minimum have to be in the same vicinity as her when he changed into his armor. Bruce ventured a glance over to the Cray super computer in order to ascertain Diana's attention, and he couldn't stop himself from the double take to confirm what he thought he'd seen. Surprisingly enough, Diana wasn't intently looking at the monitors as she'd normally be. She also didn't seem to be waiting to confront him either. Instead, it seemed that she was more focused on a pile of papers strewn about in front of her.

Thoughts instantly flooded his mind, wondering if these might be some pages from the notebook she'd been working on in the study with J'onn the night before. But she'd seemed so vigilant in keeping everything from view then, having angled any materials she'd been holding from any and all camera views within the Manor as well as the book she'd had with her. He couldn't believe she could've been trying to hide what she was working on if she had them so out in the open now for anyone to see. The only lame excuse that came to mind was if she'd perhaps lost track of time as a result of being deeply engrossed in what she was working on. Regardless, he felt that he needed to confirm what it could be that had her intrigued enough to distract her from monitoring the world's events. So, with that question in mind, he allowed his curiosity to derail him from heading toward the changing area, and instead went in the opposite direction. That direction being straight toward her.

Diana was moving from one piece of paper to another, pen in hand as she jotted down another note when Bruce approached from behind. She'd already heard him from his point of entry, and knew that he would approach her out of curiosity and paranoia. He'd made the mistake of not trying to slip into the cave using his normal silent methods, and she almost smiled as he was now trying to close in silently. "Good evening Bruce." She said without turning around while simultaneously bursting any potential belief that he'd have any success with stealth. It was likely a blow to his arrogance, but she figured he could handle it.

Meanwhile he was busy internally cursing at himself for having been caught. In his exhausted state, he'd obviously failed at sneaking around unnoticed. That was definitely a rarity for him, even with meta's involved. But still, he was even more thrown off by the fact that Diana never seemed to be concerned about his presence. She hadn't even scurried in attempt to hide anything from him. "Working on something interesting?" He asked, trying to sound only half intrigued.

"Actually, it's something that you might be able to help me with." Diana said as she finally faced him by spinning around in her chair. "I believe Patriarch's world calls this...apartment shopping?"

"Thinking of moving out?" He asked, somewhat surprised. "I figured you'd just stay here until the new Watchtower is finished."

"Well, I admit that was my original intention." She admitted. "But I don't want to be any more of a burden on you or especially Alfred. That sweet man already has more than enough on his plate without having me here adding to it. Besides, I think it might be a good idea to have a place of my own even after the new Watchtower is completed. After all, who knows how long the new Tower will last?"

In response, Bruce merely released a disapproving grunt. He certainly couldn't argue the validity of her point, but that wasn't what really had him so disgruntled. Had he been worrying all this time about a possible confrontation with Diana regarding his dreams when perhaps she'd actually just been researching potential housing options? He'd been absolutely positive of her intentions before, but now doubt had begun to linger in his mind.

And it was then that he realized he'd been blankly staring at Diana for more than a few moments, and he had to internally shake himself from his thoughts in order to force himself to break the silence. "Find any potential prospects?" He finally asked.

"I think so with Alfred's help earlier today, and he couldn't have offered his advice at a better time for me." Diana answered.

"What did he say that was so helpful?"

"Well, he actually helped to calm some of my frustration more so than anything." She said in response. "I'd been considering either New York or Washington D.C. as a good base for me to call home, but it became a little frustrating to actually find a place that felt right. But after he came and shared some tea to take my mind off the search, I was able to take a step back, breathe, and then found a few places with potential."

"Alfred has a knack for things like that." Bruce agreed. "How far have you gotten with your search? Have you made any calls yet on the potentials you found?"

"Actually, I was planning on making some calls first thing in the morning." Diana replied. "I just wanted to dig a little more through them before I start reaching out.

"Well, I suppose I should wish you luck." Bruce grumbled as he started to turn toward the changing room, but paused momentarily. " But if you need any help.."

"You'll be the first person I reach out to." She finished for him, and then watched as he virtually stomped away from her.

Diana could tell she'd gotten under his skin, and had to fight to keep her lips from turning upward. She had to admit though that there was still a small part of her which felt guilty about the deception behind her story, but she knew that she no choice. He'd gotten too close to discovering her plans already. Besides, if things didn't end well, she may well need to find a place of her own rather quickly.

To keep up with the deception, she'd went so far as to pull up multiple rentals on Bruce's super computer just to create a traceable paper trail for him to dig into. She was certain he'd gather any and all evidence, and stew over this new information. He'd have to add it to everything that he'd already compiled, validate it, and re-validate it before he would come to any sort of conclusion as to the actual veracity of her alleged story.

As a result of this new information, Bruce wasn't even thinking straight any longer. He was steaming over this previously unknown information as he slipped into his Batsuit armor. He'd even begun to wonder if there might of been something he'd said or done that might have caused Diana to even think about looking for another place to stay. If she'd said that she wanted to find a place once the Watchtower was up and running, he would've been fine with it, but the fact that she'd said she wanted to find a place for before as well as after the Watchtower was finished was absolutely eating away at him.

A very large part of him wanted to march right over to her and demand to know why she wanted to leave his home when she was clearly welcome to stay. He quickly calculated there was less than a miniscule chance that her desire to move had anything to do with Alfred. And J'onn, she'd basically lived with in the same manner on the first Watchtower before, so the likelihood of him being the reason was almost as low as Alfred's. That left only the Manor itself or him as the justification.

He couldn't help but to mentally run through each and every conversation they'd shared since she'd been a resident in his home. For the most part, he could conclude that their conversations had been no different than any previous ones they shared aboard the first Watchtower. The only differences revolved around her increased knowledge of his full time routine, but she'd seemed to be completely understanding of his non-League related responsibilities. She'd never really questioned him about what he was doing or why, and they hadn't even had a real argument regarding her not being permitted to join him on his nightly patrols.

Luckily for Bruce, he'd been performing this routine of preparing for patrol for such a long time, that he could probably do it in his sleep. In fact, before he even realized what he was doing, he'd already climbed into the Batmobile and fired the engine. And his good fortune of not needing to be on top of his game didn't end there either. It turned out to be an extremely slow night that he'd later chalk that up to more of a result of poor weather conditions than anything else. The night, after all had been accompanied by quite the torrential and steady downpour.

He knew as he continued on through one of his typical patrol routes that he had to do something about this internal issue sooner rather than later. It'd been distracting him far more than he could recall happening in recent memory. He'd literally thought about nothing else up to that point, and with all that thought, he was still no further along in determining what was actually going on with Diana than when he'd first become aware of her possible apartment hunting.

He'd confirmed that she had indeed performed some research online. In fact, she'd been at it for hours if the logs from the Batcave computer were accurate. She'd even skipped out on dinner to apparently continue with her search. Everything he looked into only seemed to indicate that Diana was indeed looking into finding her own place, but there was still something playing at the back of his mind. That something was telling him that she knew about his nightmares. And if it were anyone else, he'd think that this apartment search would be nothing more than a ruse to try and throw him off.

But this wasn't someone else. It was Diana. She wasn't the type of person to hide things, or set up shadows and falsehoods in order to conceal her real objective. But then, he wasn't entirely certain of what her objective might be anymore either. It was the means of how she might attempt to confront him that he couldn't quite wrap his head around.

He'd concocted so many possible scenarios as the night progressed, that he ended up never coming out of his own personal autopilot mode until he was already parking the Batmobile back inside the cave. It was yet another in the long line of mental lapses that'd been the result of Diana and her potential plans combined with such a lack of sleep.

It was a calculated risk to stay around Diana if she did plan to confront him about his dreams, but he desperately needed at least a few hours of sleep to recharge his mind and body. He only hoped that this would turn out to be one of his few dreamless nights, and that Diana wouldn't try to push her way in if it wasn't.

* * *

~~4:47AM~~

Diana sat up in her bed with a start, startled by the sounds of Bruce's voice coming from the room adjacent to her own. It only took a moment for her to conclude that Bruce's nightmares had obviously latched their claws into his psyche once again, and also that now was going to be her best shot at trying to help him move past these nightmares.

She wasted no time, climbing out of her bed and running out of her bedroom, and only pausing once she reached Bruce's bedroom door. She knew that she needed to take a moment and focus on what she could hear with her enhanced senses before she tried entering, but after just a few seconds, it wasn't hard to determine that his sleep had been interrupted as well. She heard him through the door panting heavily, trying to catch his breath. Then she heard what sounded like soft steps being taken, and that was when she decided it was time to enter.

After stepping into his room, at first Diana couldn't see anyone or any movement within the room, but before she had time to truly seek out Bruce's whereabouts, she then heard water running from a faucet and beginning to pour into a sink. While there was no light turned on in his master bathroom, she knew that was where Bruce had to be.

So Diana quietly approached, and sure enough there Bruce was, bent over the bathroom sink, repeatedly cupping water into his hands before splashing the cool liquid onto his face. At first, she wanted to think of something witty to say in announcing her presence, but she figured even if he honestly hadn't already noticed that she was standing in his bathroom doorway, she'd only have another few seconds before that changed.

And realize her presence he did, but not until just after Diana flipped on the bathroom light. Bruce inadvertently froze at the sudden change for a fraction of a second before then reaching for a nearby towel in order to dry his face. However, that single moment was more than enough for someone such as Diana to pick up on. In fact, he assumed that she might eventually go off bragging to the others about "that one time" she managed to sneak up on the great Batman. He almost growled at the sheer thought of such gossip possibly taking place at his expense, but instead just looked straight ahead at the reflection staring back at him in the mirror. "So the apartment search was just a ruse." He said.

"Sort of." Diana admitted as a small amount of color began to flush over her cheeks. "It depends."

"On what?" Bruce asked.

"On if I'll be in need of a place to stay after tonight until the Watchtower is completed and operational."

"You think I'm going to kick you out of the Manor because you're planning on butting into my personal matters." Bruce said. For anyone else it would've been a question, but not the World's Greatest Detective.

"Well, you did have J'onn move to the other end of the house, and he respected your wishes to leave your night time troubles alone." She answered.

"And you won't." Once again a statement more than a question.

"No, I won't." She confirmed before crossing her arms over her chest, taking a defiant stance as she continued in a demanding tone. "And I'd appreciate it if you would at least have the common courtesy of looking at me when you are speaking to me."

Upon taking in her words, Bruce's head lowered and his shoulders slumped. He knew that he'd behaved rudely toward her, and she'd correctly called him out on it. Even though he didn't want her to interfere in his personal matter, he knew that she only had the best of intentions. She was wrong on one account though. He didn't want her to move out. He just wanted her to drop the subject of his dreams.

Bruce's mind rushed with all the arguments he'd formulated beforehand, and turned to face her directly, but then he froze at the sight of her. Diana hadn't apparently planned everything out, or at least he hoped that she hadn't. Otherwise he wasn't sure just how she wanted him to react to her state of dress, or rather of near undress.

She was sporting an almost sheer black negligee, which left very little to the imagination. He wanted to look away out of respect for her, but found that his eyes were vehemently refusing any command to look away.

Simultaneously however, Diana was also staring at the man before her. She took in the glean of sweat shining over his muscular body, which was only otherwise covered by a pair of boxer briefs. She wanted to scold herself for not having properly prepared herself for how to react, but she had to internally admit that she did enjoy the view. All of Bruce's hard work and dedication toward being a warrior and hero of Gotham had certainly created quite the delectable physique before her to ogle.

In fact, she was almost salivating as the thought of having her way with this male specimen began to formulate. But that was until her eyes finally managed to make their way up to his ocean blue orbs, and then she noticed how wide eyed he was. She then spared a glance downward at herself, and realized just what she was revealing to him. She instantly recognized that aside from her boots, while there was still technically more fabric currently covering her than her normal armor did, her current appearance still seemed to hold a certain amount of higher intimacy than armor did. Plus the armor wasn't nearly as translucent as what she was wearing.

Still, the initial shock did begin to wear off. Bruce tried to clear the sudden lump from his throat, and Diana was silently thanking herself at having thought to not sleep in the nude like she normally would. "Thank you." She eventually murmured as Bruce finally managed to avert his eyes, and she figured that gesture meant that it was now or never for her. "I know that you have a strong desire to keep many things private from others Bruce, but you have to know that I care about you. I'm concerned that something like this seems to have affected you for such a long time."

"I don't need your pity Diana." Bruce said as he began to become quite angry.

At Bruce's instant change in demeanor, Diana knew she had to act quickly or risk losing any chance at him even listening to anything more she had to say. "It's not pity Bruce." She started quickly, taking a step closer to him, but still giving him space. "I honestly don't know how you've managed to not only survive on such a limited amount of rest, but that you are somehow able to do more than any other person I know. And you do it all over and over on a daily basis. You can't possibly imagine the level of respect I have for you in being able to sustain such a pattern for such a long time."

"It's a formula that works for me." Bruce responded defensively. "I've gotten used to it, and I know how best to deal with it."

"Are you so sure?" She asked.

Bruce's eyes once again fixed upon hers when she questioned him. He was almost dumbstruck at the audacity of this woman questioning him in such a way. "I use it Diana." He said succinctly. "The nightmares are more of a tool for me than a hindrance."

"But what if it still really is a hindrance Bruce?" Diana continued to push. "I know you want to believe that it helps you in some way, and perhaps you've managed to make it true to some extent. Perhaps putting up with this suffering does somehow serve as a form of fuel, and it helps to keep you focused on why you became Batman. But maybe there's some other reason behind it which you refuse to acknowledge. I believe that the events which led to you becoming Batman have already molded you. No amount of nightmares will enhance that, but I also believe that you don't need this torture in order to continue being the warrior that you've already become. And I believe that you could possible become even more if you would just try to do something about it that would allow you a few extra hours to rest and recuperate your mind and body."

"And I believe that I've already given thought to that." Bruce replied. "I also believe that it's none of your damn business."

"What goes on in those dreams is not my business Bruce." Diana Fired right back. "But what is my business is when I see a beloved friend suffering needlessly."

"I don't want your help!" Bruce practically yelled at her before he stormed passed her and back out into his bedroom where he began pacing.

"Then maybe you aren't as intelligent as everyone seems to believe!" Diana responded heatedly, not backing down one iota as she turned to keep him in her sights. She then found that her last comment also earned her the first Batglare of the argument. Needless to say, it did not have the desired result Bruce was likely looking for, and she was going to make sure he was fully aware of that. "You won't intimidate me Bruce. And it is foolish to believe that allowing or wanting yourself to continue suffering is the best way for you to be, as either Batman or as Bruce Wayne."

"You don't..."

"Don't even try to tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about!" Diana interrupted vehemently. "What you're doing to yourself is virtually no different than if any other hero were to choose to go into battle with a pulled muscle, at a minimum. Without proper sleep, your mind is not running at full capacity despite anything you might have to say, and there's no amount of caffeine that you can ingest or otherwise put into your body to compensate for that. While what you do is more than most anyone else would be capable of under the same conditions, you still are limiting your own potential. You can try denying it all that you want, but that will only prove how stubborn you are. You need to accept that in this instance Bruce, you are wrong."

Diana figured that if steam could pour out of his ears when Bruce became really angry, this very moment would've been the most opportune time to display such a feature. He was beyond fuming, and what was worse, he couldn't come up with an acceptable retort to throw back at her. She'd made a valid point, and he had to at least give her that much, even if he still had no intention of giving in.

"I don't want to talk about this." He said defiantly. "There's the door. Get out."

Diana merely glared at him as she placed her hands on her hips. She was more than ready to pound some understanding through his thick skull if it came to that, and she had prepared herself well for his coldness.

"That was your cue to leave." Bruce growled as he stomped right up to her.

"I'm not leaving." She fired right back at him, her lips curling ever so slightly upward to show what she thought about his posturing.

Bruce thought about grabbing her by the arm and dragging her out of his room, but he quickly discarded such a notion. If Diana didn't want to go, and he couldn't infuriate her into leave voluntarily, there really wasn't much he could do. Instead, he'd just have to ignore her until she gave up and left. She'd said it herself. He was stubborn, and that meant he could wait her out.

"Fine." He said as he turned away from her, and headed over to his bed. "But I'm not going to talk about this, and I have a full schedule at Wayne Enterprises later this morning. I'm going to sleep. You can just stand there for the rest of the night if that's what you want to do."

And Diana did stand there. She stood and watched as Bruce climbed into his bed staring up at the ceiling. He stayed like that for a few minutes, and she assumed that he expected she would give in and leave. Eventually though he did shut his eyes while also releasing a rather noisy sigh.

The only thing Diana did in response was drop her hands from her hips, allowing her arms to dangle at her sides. She knew him too well to expect that the Batman would permit sleep so long as he was knowingly being watched. So, regardless of what Bruce thought, and so long as he didn't kick her out of the Manor, she wasn't going anywhere. At least not until he would let her try to help him with his nightmares.

So Diana continued to stand there watching him lay on his bed, completely motionless. Occasionally, she would shift weight from one leg to the other and glance up at the clock to see how much time had passed. Bruce's eyes remained closed the entire time, but it wasn't hard for her to tell that he definitely wasn't sleeping. His breathing was a little too even and controlled, and looked more like he was meditating in an effort to ignore that she was still there.

When nearly fifteen minutes had passed, Diana finally came to the conclusion that while she was still in his room, he for the most part was controlling the situation. She'd gotten no closer to getting him to talk to her, and she knew that she'd never get him to open up if he continued to maintain that control. She had to do something to rattle him a bit. The only question was, what would sufficiently rattle the Batman?

That was when she thought of his initial response to seeing her in his bathroom doorway earlier. She recalled his initial reaction when he looked at her. He'd been thrown off balance by her appearance, and couldn't seem to look elsewhere. And if he was thrown off just by the sight of her, then perhaps she could use that to her advantage by also invading his personal space. Although, she'd decided that she wasn't about to do anything inappropriate, she still wanted to try and get a reaction out of him.

With her choice of action decided, Diana then floated over to the empty side of Bruce's bed. She swiftly slid in underneath the covers, but hardly had a moment to settle in before she'd already received the first reaction from him.

"What are you doing?" He asked quickly as his eyes snapped open, but continued to stare straight up at the ceiling.

"Getting comfortable." Diana answered as if he should've known better.

"Your bed is in the room across the hall." He responded as he rolled over to the edge of the bed on his side, attempting to increase the space between them.

"I'm not leaving your side until you'll honestly and openly hear me out instead of just letting what I have to say go in one ear and out the other." She replied in a tone that made clear there was no room for compromise.

Bruce however, was still not willing to admit defeat. She'd surprised him by willingly climbing into his bed, but he could still wait her out. His bed was specifically designed to have the utmost in comfort, and Diana had likely never slept on such a surface before. It was only a matter of time before she'd let her eye lids close one too many times, and then he'd be able to slip away while she slumbered.

At that point, Bruce would hole up in one of his many bunkers throughout the city for however long it took for her to give up on this ridiculous quest. He almost smiled at the inevitability of his escape, but that was when he realized just how far he'd underestimated the level of Diana's commitment.

"Just in case you were thinking of an escape." She said as she slid over next to him and draped an arm over top of him.

Warning sirens were immediately going off in Bruce's head. Diana was practically spooning with him now, and she'd definitely gotten a reaction out of him that time as his whole body involuntarily jerked the moment her arm made contact. He could practically feel the warmth of her body with it ever so close to his back. In fact, with every breath she took, he could just feel her chest grazing against his back before retreating away again. There was zero chance he could ignore her now, and he was even beginning to lose an internal battle with a growing desire to react to her touch.

Bruce was desperate to get her away from him before he lost all control and did something he could never take back, something that might end up with him laying in traction for months. His will could only withstand so much, and she was definitely testing that limit. She was so close that he could even smell the almost floral scent of her hair, could feel the softness of her skin, the warmth of her breath gently caressing his neck and shoulders. She was being incredibly erotic toward his senses and the worst part was that she wasn't even trying to.

In fact, she was most likely being completely innocent with everything that she'd done, and that was when a last gasp idea struck him. It was cruel, but it was the only card his panic riddled mind had left to play. Enter the playboy fop.

"Just how much farther are you willing to go in order to get your way Princess?" He asked in a much huskier voice than he'd initially intended on using, but he disregarded it and continued to press on with his approach. "Seems a little progressive for someone from an island of women who have a documented hatred of men, don't you think?"

Diana physically flinched for an instant as she pulled her head back and away from Bruce. Was he really trying to use the notion of sex against her? She'd expected him to be difficult, but never thought that he'd go to such lengths. He'd always leaned away from such areas before when it came to her. He'd always been respectful, treated her as a colleague, an equal. Bruce had never acted this way toward her, and that had been one of the reasons why she respected him so much. He'd always been different from any other men.

Although, the more she thought about it, the more she began to suspect that he could be using it as an act of pure desperation to get her to leave. It was certainly a dirty tactic, and he had to have felt her when she shifted away just a moment ago. Well, if he wanted to play dirty, then she was going to see just how long he'd keep up the ruse. She knew how to play chicken too.

Diana then scooted up even closer to him so that his back was almost fully pressed against her front. She felt him hold his breath for a split second, and decided to press onward a bit more as she moved her lips as close to his available ear as she could before she whispered to him. "Just how much farther are you thinking I'd need to go to get my way, Bruce?"

A shiver went down his spine as her soft words caused the fine hairs on his neck to stand up. His throat suddenly felt as dry as desert sand, and he couldn't begin to try swallowing the lump that'd stationed itself there. His natural male instincts were screaming at him to just turn around and take her, and he couldn't stop the natural reaction from certain parts of his anatomy as they began to react to her advances. She was a goddess in every which way, and she was curled up to him in his bed. A lesser man would've completely melted into putty by that point, and he couldn't be completely certain that he hadn't started to melt himself.

"Just...how many...others would you be willing to go this far for?" Bruce somehow managed to spit out as a last ditch effort to anger her.

"We haven't done anything Bruce." Diana replied casually before an evil smirk graced her face. "Not yet at least."

Bruce's mouth hung open as he registered what she'd said. She couldn't really be offering herself to him, could she? Why would she want to do such a thing with someone so very obviously broken. He tried to think of a way of how to respond when he suddenly realized, and too late to stop himself, that his hand had already reached back, beginning to gently stroke her left thigh. His eyes instantly widened upon realization of what he was doing, but that was when Diana's leg suddenly moved to hook around his.

Diana's eyes snapped open as she realized not just what Bruce was doing with his hand, but that she'd responded to it without even giving thought to it. She hadn't intended for this little game of chicken to reach the levels it had, but she couldn't deny that there was also a part of her which deeply enjoyed the feel of his hand as it continued to sensually caress her with soft strokes up and down the outer part of her thigh. She couldn't believe the hint of disappointment that coursed through her when his fingers came oh so close to her rear on a few upward passes before retreating back down to her knee, and that was when she realized that they were both practically panting.

Someone had to stop before neither of them could, and Bruce was beginning to roll over to face her. "What are we doing?" She whispered as his rolling motion started to become more pronounced.

"I don't know." He responded as he made it onto his back. His free hand moved to cup her face as his lust filled eyes aimed to connect with hers, only to find the same lust looking back at him. His lips ached to touch hers, but then his control managed to grab desperate hold one final time. Only instead of becoming angry and closed off, he actually started to smile. It was a genuine smile too, and that caused Diana's mind to clear a bit as well.

She thought it was a beautiful sight to behold. Especially considering that she believed it had to be a rarity. And it seemed to be contagious, as she started to smile back at him before they both began to chuckle. They'd been acting like lust filled teenagers, and they'd both realized it at the same time.

After a few moments, Bruce's subtle laughter died down enough for him to finally clear his throat, but the smile never left his face. "Truce?" He offered.

"Only if you'll agree to try letting me help you." Diana countered, hoping that his smile would make many more appearances she could witness it. In fact, she decided to use that tidbit of information to her advantage. "I've never seen you smile like this before."

Bruce's smile began to fade upon hearing that, but Diana immediately put a hand on one of his cheeks. "You shouldn't hide it." She said. "I think it's very attractive."

His smile stopped fading away after hearing her opinion, but he did roll the rest of the way onto his side so that they were now facing each other. "You're not going to give this up, are you?"

"I've gotten you to smile." Diana replied. "I think that should serve as proof enough that I can help you Bruce. You just have to let me. And who knows, you might just enjoy it."

Bruce's eyes traveled a little south before returning to Diana's fiery blues, and the smile transitioned into a cocky smirk. "If this is how you were planning to _help_ , you're definitely going to be right."

Diana playfully smacked him on the shoulder. "Typical response from a man!" She said with a beaming smile on her face.

"Hey now!" Bruce responded. "I can't be blamed for that. You obviously didn't give much consideration to your attire when you came bursting into my bedroom."

"Actually, I did." Diana informed him, which seemingly caused his eyes to grow double in size. "I thought it would be more appropriate than how I normally sleep."

Bruce tried and failed miserably not to create a mental image of how Diana normally slept, and he barely suppressed a shudder from rolling through him. He was definitely going to need a cold shower. "I suppose I should thank you for that." He managed to say. "I don't think I would've been able to keep my hands off of you at all if that was how you showed up."

"Good to know." Diana said as a mischievous look suddenly graced her facial features just before Bruce felt her hand covering his so that he couldn't remove it. "But you still didn't keep your hands to yourself."

Bruce instantly tried and failed to remove his hand from Diana's leg. While she hadn't used all her strength, she did use more than enough to let him know that he wasn't going to get his hand back until she was good and ready to allow it. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't even.."

"It's alright Bruce." Diana interrupted. "If I weren't okay with it, you would've have known it immediately, and painfully so."

"So then what..." Bruce started to question before realizing that he didn't know what he wanted to ask her.

"First, we work toward seeing who is right about your nightmares." Diana said in answer to his half question. "Along the way, I'd also like to revisit that kiss during the Thanagarian invasion. I'd like to believe that my thoughts on that particular moment are accurate as well, especially considering what we almost gave in to just a moment ago."

Bruce normally would've sighed in frustration, and probably would have, if these subjects had come from anyone else. Anyone but Diana. But instead, he found himself fighting an emerging smile, and at that moment, he came to the realization that maybe, just maybe she could be right.

FIN

* * *

AN: Well, this is the end, and even it grew quite a bit after the first two proofreads. Four I hope was the lucky charm to complete a short little fic for everyone to enjoy. Also, I haven't given up on my other two fics. Things have been terribly busy this year, and I've had a couple of issues coming up with some scenarios to fit for both of the fics. I think I'm going to solely focus on one and try to get it out of the way so that I can better focus on them both. Just wanted to give anyone interested in them a head's up.


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